Brewer system including pervasive RFID sensing for servers

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, system, and method for use with beverages and beverage making and dispensing equipment. The apparatus, system, and method of use monitors characteristics of the beverage, reports characteristics, or both and selectively affects the beverage and beverage making and dispensing equipment, a server containing the beverage, or both. The apparatus, system, and method of use employs an information vehicle device associated with each beverage server or dispenser and a reader which reads the information device. The reader communicates the information from the information device to a controller for use to individually or collectively display information, collect information, and/or selectively affect the condition of the beverage in response to the information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of copending U.S. application Ser.No. 12/920,581, filed Sep. 1, 2010, is a U.S. nationalization under 35U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2009/036397, filedMar. 6, 2009, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/034,333, filed Mar.6, 2008. The disclosures set forth in the referenced applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, system, and method foruse with beverages and beverage making and dispensing equipment. Theapparatus, system, and method of use monitors characteristics of thebeverage, reports characteristics, or both and selectively affects thebeverage and beverage making and dispensing equipment, a servercontaining the beverage, or both. The apparatus, system, and method ofuse employs an information device associated with each beverage serveror dispenser and a reader which reads the information device. The readercommunicates the information from the information device to a controllerfor use to individually or collectively display information, collectinformation, and/or selectively affect the condition of the beverage inresponse to the information.

The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of thedisclosure and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of thedisclosure in any manner Additional features of the present disclosurewill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration ofthe following brief description of illustrative embodiments exemplifyingthe best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a beverage system for use withthe present apparatus, system, and method, illustrating a serverincluding an information device positioned relative to a reader forobtaining information from the information device, also illustrated aremultiple stations including corresponding readers, controllers, anddisplays;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a heatable server including an informationdevice positioned on the heatable server;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a thermal server including an informationdevice positioned on the thermal server;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a beverage system for use withthe present apparatus, system, and method, illustrating a serverincluding an information device positioned relative to a reader forobtaining information from the information device, also illustrated aremultiple stations including corresponding readers, controllers, anddisplays;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the general relationshipbetween the server, information device, reader, controller, andadditional devices such as an information transfer component, a heateror other sensors;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view showing a server positionedon a device including a reader in the form of a collar positionedrelative to a portion of the server. An information device carried onthe server relative to the collar;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the partial fragmentary drawings shown inFIG. 6 showing the server and information device positioned above acorresponding housing for covering a coil portion of the reader assemblyand also including a warmer associated with the housing and coilportion, the warmer includes a plate and a heating element;

FIGS. 8-1 through 8-6 is a schematic associated with the RFID deviceassociated with the information device of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9-1 through 9-6 is a schematic illustration of the controlsassociated with the system; and

FIGS. 10-1 through 10-2 is a schematic illustration of the electricalschematic associated with the beverage system, apparatus and method ofthe present disclosure.

The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of thedisclosure and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of thedisclosure in any manner Additional features of the present disclosurewill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration ofthe following detailed description of illustrative embodimentsexemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presentlyperceived.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment indifferent forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will bedescribed in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the presentdescription is to be considered an exemplification of the principles ofthe disclosure and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the details of construction and the arrangements ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, disclosed is a beverage system 20 whichincludes a beverage maker 26 for making, dispensing, and collectingbeverage for selective dispensing. The beverage system 20 includessensing technology to sense the presence, absence, or both of a server24 associated with the system and characteristics associated withbeverage contained in the server 24. The server 24 may be in the form ofa heatable server 24 a or an unheated server 24 b. The heatable server24 a might be in the form of glass server 24 a for retaining coffee orother heated beverage. Alternatively, the unheated server 24 b might bein the form of a thermal server which does not require any added heat toretain the heated beverage in a suitable heated condition for anacceptable period of time.

The embodiment of the system 20 shown in the FIG. 1 includes a beveragebrewer 26. For example the brewer 26 is capable of brewing coffee, teaor any other beverage. The brewer 26 includes a location 30 for placinga beverage making substance holder or funnel 28, a water delivery system(not shown), a server, carafe, decanter or other corresponding container24 and a position 30 for placing the server 24 relative to the funnel28. During a brewing cycle water is introduced into the funnel 28 forcombination with and infusion of a brewing substance retained in thefunnel 28 for producing a brewed beverage which is dispensed into theserver 24 positioned underneath the funnel 24.

The server location 30 can include a heater 62 which controllablymaintains the heat of the beverage retained in the heatable server 24 a(see FIG. 2) at a desired level. Additionally, the heater may becontrollable to selectively apply heat or apply a certain level of heat.In the situation in which the server 24 is an unheated server such as athermal carafe 24 b (see FIG. 3), it would be desirable to not applyheat to the thermal server 24 b. The reason for not applying heat to athermal server 24 b is, depending on the type of server, the applicationof heat may be detrimental to the structure and function of such aserver and an unnecessary expenditure of heat energy and associatedelectricity. In this situation it would be desirable to be able to notheat the server 24 b or otherwise turn off the power to prevent heatingof the server.

It would be desirable to provide an information vehicle device 40 and acorresponding read/write information communication device 44 to sense orotherwise detect the presence, absence, or both of a server 24 proximateto the information communication device 44. The information vehicledevice 40 will be referred to as the “information device 40” herein withthe understanding that this is to be broadly interpreted and notlimiting. The corresponding read/write information communication device44 will be referred to as the “reader 44” herein with the understandingthat this is to be broadly interpreted and not limiting. The informationdevice 40 can be used to track, at least one of the characteristics ofthe beverage contained in the server 24 and the type of server. Theability to track the beverage would be useful in the situation in whichthe server 24 is removed from the first brewing device 26 and placedeither at a second brewing device 50 or a warming station 54.Additionally, once the server 24 is moved to one of the other devices50, 54 it may be moved between the devices and not returned to theoriginal brewing apparatus 26.

While the reader 44 is shown as being in a position such as the serverreceiving location 30, the reader 44 may be placed otherwise on any ofthe corresponding apparatus to read the information device 40.Generally, it is envisioned that the information device 40 and reader 44may require some degree of relative proximity to provide a signal. Thisis due to the current limitations relating to such information devices40 such as RFIDs. However, it is envisioned and fully within the scopeof the present disclosure that other information devices and associatedreaders may be employed or developed which do not require relativelyclose proximity of the server to the reader and which may not be an RFIDdevice. It is envisioned that such systems and devices and all existingand hereafter developed systems and devices are fully included withinthe scope of the present disclosure and encompassed by the presentdisclosure.

In at least one embodiment, an information device 40 and reader 44 isprovided which includes some relative proximity between the devices.Additionally, while a variety of information devices is anticipatedincluding magnetic portions such as magnetic strips or dots, bar codereaders, optically sensed components, conductive components, inductivecomponents, an RFID device 40 and a corresponding RFID reader 44 isshown and described. The disclosure of the information device 40 as anRFID device and the reader 44 as a corresponding reader is provided byway of illustration and not limitation with all other variations ofinformation devices and readers/writers fully encompassed within thescope of this disclosure. Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, assignee of thepresent application, has developed various applications of RFIDtechnology for use with beverage apparatus, including U.S. Pat. No.7,223,427, “Beverage Maker Interface”, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Also, the information device 40 is shown asbeing attached to or otherwise dependent upon the server 24. It isenvisioned that the information device may be permanently affixed to,bonded to, over molded, embedded in, integrally formed as a part of,temporarily affixed to, removably carried on, or otherwise associatedwith the server 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a collar 56, 56 a (see FIGS. 2), and 56b (see FIG. 3) is provided which allows the information device 40 to begenerally securely retained to the server 24 and removable therefrom.The removability and secure retention of the information device 40 onthe server 24 may be useful. In the event the server 24 becomes damagedor otherwise unusable, the information device 40 can be removed andattached to another server 24. A removably attachable information device40 also may be useful in a situation in which components are retrofittedto existing beverage preparation systems. It may be useful to remove theinformation device 40 for cleaning of the server 24 and then reattachingthe information device after cleaning the server. Additionally, removalof the information device 40 from the server may be useful forrepurposing of servers which will no longer be used with the overallsystem. This will allow the device 40 to be removed and redeployed tothe system while reusing the server. In this situation, it may be usefulor desirable to allow the device 40 to be removable without tools so asto prevent damage to the device 40 and the server.

A variety of devices for retaining the information device 40 on theserver and be devised. All versions of such devices are intended to beincorporated in the present application, without limitation andincorporated within the present disclosure. By way of example, thestructure for retaining the information device 40 on the server 24 maybe in the form of an elastic or otherwise retaining band which an beattached to the body of the server. Such a band may be in the form of anelastomeric band in which the chip has been molded in, bonded to orinserted in a pocket on the band. This allows the band to be quickly andeasily recovered if the server body is broken. This provides anotherform of removable device 40 holder for use with the server. The bandmight be color coded in the coding system which is currently used fordecaf and regular coffee, namely, orange and brown. This would provideanother level of identification of characteristics of the beverage.

During a brewing cycle, information can be transferred to theinformation device 40 from a read/write transfer device 44.Alternatively, a separate transfer device 60 (see FIG. 5) could beprovided. Once the information is transferred to the information device40 the information will travel with the server 24 regardless of where itis placed. The reader 44 can be provided at each location at which theserver may be placed. This includes both active and passive locations.An active location may include heaters 62 (see FIG. 5) or other devices64 which may affect or detect the condition or characteristics ofbeverage in the server 24. When placed at the alternate locations 50, 54or even the original brewer 26 information about the beverage in theserver 24 can be read from the information device 40 by means of thereader 44. With reference to FIG. 4, the information can be displayed ona display 70 coupled to a controller 72 associated with thecorresponding apparatus 26, 50, 54. The information displayed on thedisplay 70 can be in any of various forms which are sensed by a user.For example while a visual display of information relating to thebeverage is shown and described, it is also fully within the scope ofthe present disclosure to include any form of sensory feedback. Suchsensory feedback may include audible signals such as acoustic or otheralarms or alerts, lighted signals, vibrational signals, aroma signals aswell as any other form of communication to a user which can be used tocommunicate information to the user such as characteristics of thebeverage.

In an embodiment in which a visual display is used, the display 70 maybe used to display text or symbolic information relating to thecharacteristics of the beverage. In this regard, information such as theremaining life of the beverage, current freshness of the beverage, orany other information can be displayed. The level of the beverage couldbe displayed as such information may be useful when the containerholding the beverage is not suitably transparent. For example in thesituation in which a thermal server is used, the material may be a metalhousing including a vacuum jacket. In this configuration, the otherdevices 64 may include a weight detector 64 or other volume detectorused to communicate information to the controller 72.

The weight detector of the other devices 64 can be calibrated with atare weight equal to the weight of a thermal server unit. When theweight sensors of the other devices 64 detect a weight, it canautomatically tare the weight of the thermal server to provide aresultant weight. The resultant weight can be correlated to acorresponding weight per volume of coffee in such a server to provide arepresentation of the volume of coffee in the server on the display 70.Additionally, the tare weight of the thermal server can be carried onthe information device so that if a variety of thermal servers are usedan accurate tare weight can be associated with each server. This tareweight can then be used by the controller to calculate a more accuratelevel condition report.

While a heatable and thermal server 24 have been shown and illustratedthroughout the drawings, it is also envisioned that a variety of serverscould be used with the present system. In this regard, servers which areused by a person to pour coffee or other beverages have been shown inthe illustrations for purposed of illustration and not limitation. Itshould be understood that the servers compensated by the presentdisclosure also include any form of server which might be used for abeverage. Such servers might include a larger volume generallystationary server which include a controllable faucet for dispensingbeverage there from. Such servers are found in settings in which theserver does not need to be moved or carried to the customer. Incontrast, such a server it may be sufficient to place a server at onelocation for dispensing of beverage by control of the faucet to a cup orcontainer placed there under. Such a server might be a self serverdispenser such as might be found in many fast food restaurants. Thistype of server is described to further illustrate and encompass avariety of servers to be used with the present apparatus, system, andmethod. It should be understood that regardless of the type of serveror, beverage container, that the systems, apparatus and methods asdisclosed herein apply.

For example, if a server such as a SoftHeat® server (trademark ofBunn-O-Matic Corporation, assignee of the present application) isincorporated in the present system all of the associated features mayapply. Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, assignee of the present application,has developed various applications of controllable servers which itidentifies as SoftHeat® technology, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,070,771;6,089,409; and 6,139,888 and any related continuation,continuation-in-part and divisional applications which are incorporatedherein by reference in the entirety. In this regard, the informationdevice can be attached, or otherwise associated with the server. Thisallows the server to be placed at a brewer for filling with beveragefrom the brewer. The brewer can include a write device to writeinformation to the information device. When the server is then movedaway from the brewer and placed at a SoftHeat® satellite station. TheSoftHeat® server is then placed at a satellite station including a leasta read device. The read device can then determine the relevantinformation as described hereinabove. The SoftHeat® station can thencontrol the heating of the beverage in the server or cessation of theheat to the server in relation to the information provided on theinformation device.

The present apparatus and system provide pervasive sensing of theinformation device on the server 24 so that no matter the location ofthe server 24, information about its contents can be provided. This maybe useful in a situation in which coffee or other beverages are preparedin a kitchen and then moved to a more publicly accessible location. Sucha situation may arise in a fast food service setting in which theoperator wishes to control the preparation of the beverage but thenprovides the server for use by the customers. Similarly, in a whitetablecloth restaurant beverages may be prepared in the kitchen but thenpresented to the wait staff in a more publicly accessible location sothe wait staff does not need to travel between the kitchen and thedining area to refill beverages. The present system, apparatus andmethod of use will help facilitate providing information about thestatus of the beverage to provide a better beverage experience.

In use, the server is placed for received information from at least awriting device or transfer device 60 so that the information device 40carried on the server can receive information. The server receivesbeverage and the information carried on the information device 40 isrelevant to the beverage. The information may be detailed informationabout the beverage specifically the type the characteristics as well asa time stamp for other information related to freshness characteristicsof the beverage. In this regard, information carried on the informationdevice will be read by the reader 44 and used by the correspondingcontroller 72 for use in control of the warmers 62, other devices 64and/or display 70.

The server 24 may either remain at the location 30 or may be moved to analternate location which includes all or some of the features asdescribed above. For example, an alternate location may only include areader 44 and a control 72. This allows the location to read theinformation device 40 and provide information to the controller 72. Thismay be used with either display 70 or a heater 62 or other device 64.Any one or all of these devices may be provided at the second location.For example, if the length of time which the server is intended to sitat a heater 62 is not relevant to the overall equation, the locationmight include only the other device such as a weight system 64 and adisplay 70 to provide a level of the beverage retained in the server. Inthis situation, the controller 72 might not display information on thedisplay 70 if the server 24 is identified by the information device asbeing a heatable or transparent server. Alternatively, if the server isa thermal server the information device, if it carries this information,might then provide information to activate the display 70 to identifythe level of condition the server.

Similarly, and importantly, the location may include the heater assembly44. The server 24 carrying information about the characteristics of thisserver construction can then provide information to the controller 72 toactivate or deactivate the warmer in response to the type of server. Inthis regard, if the server is a heatable glass server or other materialserver the warmer can be activated. Pre-programmed routines can beprovided by the controller to control continuous or non-continuousheating patterns to provide desired heating results. Bunn-O-MaticCorporation, assignee of the present application, has developed variousapplications of controllable heating systems including U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/521,613, “Temperature Control System” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additionally, thecontroller 72 can control the warmer assembly 62 to deactivate when apredetermined time period have been reached to prevent over heating ofthe coffee in the server. If the server is a thermal server placement ofthe thermal server on a heating device will either maintain the heatingdevice in a de-activated condition or turn off the heating device toprevent unnecessary heating of the thermal server. Deactivating of theheater or preventing activation of the heater in the presence of athermal server not only prevents potential undesirable heating of theserver; it also can be used to reduce energy costs by preventingunnecessary heating. The information device attached to the respectiveservers 24 a, 24 b may include a locked information storage area ormemory section to prevent changing the identification of the type ofserver. Alternatively, if the information device is carried on aremovable and reusable attachment structure, this area can be providedin an unlocked condition so that relevant information relating to thetype of server can be written to the information device on demand

As an additional matter, the system can be programmed or otherwiseadapted to differentiate the type of server material. This arises fromthe effect of the serving material on the information device. In thisregard, an information device carried on a metal, thermal server mightproduce a different signal than a similar device or the same devicecarried on a glass server. In this regard, the metal detunes the signalfrom the information device. Identifying this detuned condition can beused to differentiate the devices. This can be used as a confirmationfor information devices which include identification of the server ormay be used as a primary source of identifying the type of server. Thisinformation can be used to control the relevant actions associated withthe system or may be used as a confirmation to produce a signal to theuser if the information carried on the chip in not consistent with thesignal, detuned or tuned associated with the server material carryingthe information device.

With reference FIGS. 6 and 7, the server 24 is shown in a sideelevational view including the information device 40 in association witha reader assembly 44. As shown, the reader assembly 44 includes a coilportion which is carried in a housing 102. Associated with the housingand coiled portion, depending on the application, may be a warmer plate104 and a heating element 62 associated with the plate 104. The plateand heating element 62 may comprise the warmer 62. As shown in theexploded drawing of FIG. 7 the housing 102 includes a raised area whichhelps to elevate a portion of the coil 100 in proximity to theinformation device 40. By positioning the coil portion 100 in closeproximity to the information device 40 a more accurate signalassociation can be sensed. The coil may either be a continuous coilplaced around the perimeter of the based of the server 24 or may be acoil which is only wrapped in proximity to the location of theinformation 40 on the server. In this alternate embodiment, the coilmight be wrapped in a continuous path and positioned along one portionof the perimeter of the server to avoid having a continuous coil aroundthe perimeter of the server. In other words, the coil is curved alongone side of the server and does not extend around the entire perimeterof the base of the server.

The schematics as illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 provide additionalsupport for the details of the operation relating to the system, methodand apparatus.

The system, method and apparatus of the present disclosure allows foridentification and tracking of server and control of characteristicsassociated with the servers to provide desired information and control.This allows the system to monitor freshness of beverage dispense into aserver and identify when the beverage is no long within the freshnesscriteria. Additionally, this allows the system to control the heating ofthe beverage retained in the server. While the system is referred to inthe present application does not necessarily mean that the apparatus orlocations associated with the system are interconnected. To thecontrary, this system allows the locations to be uncoupled. Whileconnections, either physical or wireless can be made between the variouslocations of the system, such connections are not necessary as theinformation associated with the server travel with the server on theassociated information device 40.

Additionally, energy savings can be realized by providing control of theassociated warmers to prevent unnecessary use of energy. In this regard,the warmers are turned off when the beverage is outside of the freshnesscriteria. The warmers can also be turned off when the server is removedfrom the warmer so that energy is not expended on a warmer which is notproviding any benefit by way of transferring energy to a beverage. Thesystem can control the warmers to time out the warmers at apredetermined period of time everyday so as to allow any beverageremaining on the system, regardless of whether it is fresh, to costtowards the end of the business. This prevents leaving warmers on anddissipating heat unnecessary at the end of the day. As described andshown, control of energy associate with the system can be optimized toonly apply energy to the system when necessary.

While this disclosure has been described as having an exemplaryembodiment, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses,or adaptations using its general principles. It is envisioned that thoseskilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalentswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as recitedin the following claims. Further, this application is intended to coversuch departures from the present disclosure as come within the known orcustomary practice within the art to which it pertains.

I claim:
 1. A beverage brewing apparatus having at least one beveragecontainer into which brewed beverage is dispensed, the apparatusincluding a controller for identifying at least one freshnesscharacteristic of brewed beverages produced by the beverage brewingapparatus and for identifying the type of beverage container being usedto collect the brewed beverage to facilitate control of the apparatus,the beverage brewing apparatus including: at least one receivingposition on the beverage brewing apparatus for receiving a beveragecontainer for dispensing brewed beverage from the beverage brewingapparatus to the beverage container; the at least one beverage containerfor positioning on the receiving position for receiving brewed beveragetherein when produced by the apparatus; an information device forreceiving and selectively retaining information, with the informationdevice being configured to allow a user to selectively remove theinformation device from the beverage container; at least one readerpositioned proximate to the receiving position; the controller coupledto the reader for transferring information to the information devicewhile retained on the beverage container and reading information on theinformation device relating to the at least one freshness characteristicassociated with the brewed beverage contained in the beverage containerand the type of the beverage container; the controller being coupled tothe beverage brewing apparatus such that operation of the beveragebrewing apparatus to dispense brewed beverage from the beverage brewingapparatus into the beverage container is detected by the controller andis used to establish information about the type of beverage containerand the at least one freshness characteristic associated with the brewedbeverage dispensed into the beverage container with the informationbeing transferred to the information device; and the information devicecarried on the beverage container providing information about the typeof the beverage container and, independent of the type of beveragecontainer, providing information about the brewed beverage contained inthe beverage container to provide tracking of the at least one freshnesscharacteristic associated with the brewed beverage in the beveragecontainer.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising theinformation device is carried in a collar that is mechanically removablyattachable to the beverage container.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising the information device is removably attachable to thebeverage container without the use of tools.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, further comprising the beverage apparatus includes a controllablewarming device for providing energy to the beverage container tomaintain beverage retained in the beverage container in a controllablyheated condition.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising thecontroller coupled to the warming device for controllably activating ordeactivating the warming device in response to the the type of beveragecontainer detected by the controller from the information device.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 4, further comprising the controller being coupled tothe warming device for controllably activating or deactivating thewarming device in response to the type of beverage container detected bythe controller.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controllerdeactivates the warming device upon the occurrence of a conditionassociated with the at least one freshness characteristic of thebeverage retained in the beverage container to terminate addition ofenergy to the beverage retained in the beverage container.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising an information displayassociated with the beverage apparatus and coupled to the controller fordisplaying in a form detectable by a user information associated withthe at least one freshness characteristic of the beverage retained inthe beverage container.
 9. A beverage brewing apparatus having at leastone beverage container into which brewed beverage is dispensed, theapparatus including a controller for identifying at least one freshnesscharacteristic of beverages associated with the apparatus and foridentifying the type of beverage container being used to collect thebrewed beverage to facilitate control of the apparatus, the beveragebrewing apparatus including: at least one receiving position on thebeverage brewing apparatus for receiving a beverage container and withthe beverage brewing apparatus dispensing brewed beverage to thebeverage container; the at least one beverage container for positioningon the receiving position for receiving brewed beverage therein whenproduced by the apparatus; an information device for receiving andselectively retaining information, with the information device beingconfigured to allow a user to selectively remove the information devicefrom the beverage container; at least one reader positioned on thebeverage brewing apparatus proximate to the receiving position, thereader including a writing device for writing information to theinformation device while retained on the beverage container tofacilitate tracking of the at least one freshness characteristicassociated with brewed beverage dispensed from the beverage brewingapparatus to the beverage container; the controller coupled to thereader and writing device for transferring information to theinformation device and reading information on an information devicerelating to the type of beverage container and the at least onefreshness characteristic associated with a type of brewed beveragecontained in the beverage container and a type of beverage container,the controller being coupled to the beverage brewing apparatus such thatoperation of the beverage brewing apparatus to dispense brewed beveragefrom the beverage brewing apparatus into the beverage container isdetected by the controller and is used to establish information and theat least one freshness characteristic associated with the brewedbeverage dispensed into the beverage container with the informationbeing transferred to the information device; and the information devicecarried on the beverage container providing information about the typeof beverage container and, independent of the type of beveragecontainer, providing information about the brewed beverage contained inthe beverage container to provide tracking of the at least one freshnesscharacteristic associated with the brewed beverage in the beveragecontainer.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a warmingdevice with the controller being coupled to the warming device forcontrollably activating or deactivating the warming device in responseto the at least one freshness characteristic detected by the controllerassociated with the beverage in the beverage container as indicated bythe information device.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprisinga warming device with the controller being coupled to the warming devicefor controllably activating or deactivating the warming device inresponse to the type of beverage container detected by the controller.